


Outsiders

by Oceanbourne



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, and a few mentions of Basilio, nothing much here just some character bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 19:24:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13324851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oceanbourne/pseuds/Oceanbourne
Summary: "The Feroxi are a good people," Lon'qu admitted. "But I have never felt that they are mine."





	Outsiders

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've posted here, so have some wholesome Lon'qu/Olivia. I always say that I could easily make a series out of this stuff, but I never do, so I'm not going to promise anything. Some credit is due to my friend who has a Lon'qu roleplay blog on tumblr that gave me a small background on Lon'qu before he met Basilio.

When other Feroxi leaders came to visit, they didn’t have simple banquets. They had full-scale carnivals, bombastic celebrations where the sounds of crossed steel and drunken laughter rang throughout the night amidst a rambunctious atmosphere of dance and song.

Olivia strode between two tables, pulling up her robes and maneuvering between a few outstretched legs. She hurried past a tray-carrying servant with a rushed “Pardon me!” and finally escaped from the clumped gathering of Feroxi. Placing a hand on her chest to steady her breath, she passed underneath an archway and stepped out onto the balcony outside the large dining room, hugging the torchlit stone wall.

“What a commotion going on in-”

“Away with you, villain!” shrieked a voice that seemed to come from the wall, cutting off Olivia’s thoughts. She yelped, raising one of her fans to shield her face and backed up so quickly that she bumped into the railing on the other side of the walkway.

“Oh. It was you, Olivia,” came the rattled voice of Lon’qu after a tense few moments. She lowered her fan, her arms still shaking from the shock. “I apologize for my outburst.”

“It’s alright, I’m fine,” she told him, letting out a sigh of relief. “I just didn’t see you there, hiding in the shadows and… I thought you weren’t much of a party-goer, Lon’qu?”

Lon’qu cleared his throat. Olivia noticed him allow his shoulders to lower, but only by an inch. “You are correct. I am not attending for the celebration, but at Basilio’s request to… keep vigil.”

“So you’re the security for this event, then?” Olivia chuckled. “It’s good to know there’ll be at least one familiar face in the crowd. All those foreign dignitaries,” she continued, gesturing indoor to the crowd, “make it a chore to get through the hallway. I was almost caught up in a group of Gray Feroxi that might’ve dragged me down to the basement if I didn’t wiggle free!”

“Apparently these functions are just a fraction of a full Feroxi celebration. In Regna Ferox’s golden years, the gatherings overflowed outside the castle and onto the grounds outside.”

Olivia raised a hand over her mouth. “Into the snow?”

Lon’qu nodded. “They would light fires and continue on as if everything was the same. Basilio himself recalls wrestling a half-dozen men into the snow during one particular occasion. It was when he had just become Khan.”

“I didn’t know you were so educated about Feroxi affairs, Lon’qu,” Olivia noted, offering a smile.

She could see him stiffen, his robes flattening against his body. Lon’qu place a hand on the pommel of his sword, his gaze flitting between Olivia and the gray, woody landscape spread out underneath the balcony.

“What I know is just what the khan tells me,” Lon’qu stressed. “I know little of their culture.”

“Hm.” Olivia placed a hand on her chin, letting a knuckle rest underneath her jaw. “But I think you’d like it! People are loud and jolly, but they also train hard, and the Feroxi are the greatest swordmasters on the continent. Just your type!” She flashed him a smile. “When Basilio first introduced me to you, I thought you were a native Feroxi.”

His head snapped towards her. “...Ngh.”

Although the shadows draped his face in darkness, Olivia could feel his glare on her. She found herself frozen as she watched him, like a deer cornered by a lion. But as suddenly as he cast his gaze on her, Lon’qu shook his head and broke eye contact, his attention shifting to a small leather bag hanging from his waist. He had received it from one of the Shepherds, who recommended it to him on the basis that if his anxiety with women ever troubled him, he would shift his attention towards turning over the small pebbles in the bag instead.

Olivia raised a trembling hand, stopping just above her waist in a half-hearted attempt to quell his agitation. Lon’qu’s aversion to women became less debilitating the longer he knew one, and he and Olivia had both spent several years in Khan Basilio’s service. But that did not remove all of his jitters. “Oh, I… I’m sorry. I’m being pushy, aren’t I?.”

Lon’qu took a deep breath. He turned towards Olivia, but she didn’t feel his gaze on her - it seemed to look at a point behind her head. “When I first arrived in Regna Ferox, I had nothing - not even a blade to my name, nothing but the clothes on my back and five pieces of Chon’sin silver that probably didn’t mean anything in this country.”

Olivia listened, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ of surprise. Lon’qu rarely spoke of his life before meeting Basilio.

“I hired myself to a blacksmith and eventually learned to wield a sword. Only through many long nights training, studying my form in dusty mirrors, and sheer force of will was I able to achieve some merit as a swordsman. And…” He looked towards the interior of the castle. Olivia could hear a glass shatter and a crowd erupt in applause.

“My long journey eventually brought me to Basilio’s side. I knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For someone of meager beginnings like I to be here.”

Olivia brought her gaze down, towards his feet. She wrung her hands, fingers interlaced and her shoulders slumped. “Wow, I didn’t know. I had figured you were so skilled with the sword, you were a natural…”

“The Feroxi are born fighters. It is how you make a living here, and how you make a worthy reputation for yourself. It is part of their culture. While these people may fight to survive, they were not driven to it by necessity.” Lon’qu crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

“They are a good people,” Lon’qu admitted. “But I have never felt them to be mine.”

Olivia stood there for a few seconds, the flickering flame casting a moving shadow along her face. Then, she moved towards Lon’qu, reaching out and brushing two fingers along his arm. She could feel him fight the urge to draw back, but he relented, watching her carefully.

Then, she drew back. “I know what it’s like, to be on the outside looking in. You remember the day when I first came to Regna Ferox, right?”

Lon’qu took some time to recall, his mouth curling to the side as he thought. “Vaguely. I remember Basilio taking in some members of a traveling troupe, and I spotted a woman with pink hair.”

“Right…”

“Only for a second, though. I remember that woman was very skittish, rarely holding conversations, and always trying to disappear in a group.”

Olivia raised a hand to rub her arm, a sheepish smile on her face. “Yeah. That was me back then. Basilio rescued some of us from being sold to a noble - and I was to be his wife. But even though I was grateful to the khan, I just… wasn’t comfortable being in his court. The Feroxi were a brash and rowdy people. Nothing like the towns where I’m from.”

Lon’qu was beginning to catch onto her point, his gaze softening. “You too felt like an outsider.”

Olivia nodded. “But now that I’ve performed so many times for the court and met the other warriors of Regna Ferox, I realize they’re good people.”

A couple of tall Feroxi warriors passed by them, the metal rings fastened on their chainmail clanging against the metal. “Little miss dancer!” one of them called out. “Looking forward to your performance later!”

“Well, thank you, Salazar!” Olivia answered back, waving. “I’m really excited to show everyone!”

After the Feroxi turned into the main hall, Olivia looked back at Lon’qu. “Yeah. It turns out they’re not really all that scary.”

Lon’qu grunted in assent, and Olivia thought she could sense a trace of amusement in him. “You are performing tonight?” he asked.

“Mhm!” Olivia nodded. “We’re going on stage in about fifteen minutes. I spent the past week studying Feroxi tradition, and tried to weave in a few tribal dances into the routine this time.” She clasped her hands together. “I hope they like it.”

“Basilio would not constantly advertise your skill if he did not trust you,” Lon’qu offered.

A quiet gasp left Olivia’s throat. “Oh!” She smiled, placing a hand underneath the edge of her cheek. “That’s very kind of you to say so.”

She could feel the hesitation drag itself across Lon’qu’s face. “That… I was just relaying what Basilio has said about you.”

“I know what you mean,” Olivia said, her smile growing. “I’m glad you’re looking out for me.”

“Tch,” he huffed, turning away. “If you say so.”

“Will you be watching the performance, Lon’qu?” Olivia asked. She looked down the pathway, greeted by its emptiness and the gusts of wind coming from over the mountain. “Or will you be watching the pine trees instead?”

Lon’qu turned back to her, glaring. “This responsibility is no joking matter.”

Olivia’s smile tapered off, her shoulders falling.

“But… I suppose,” Lon’qu continued, clearing his throat. “I can find the time to attend, for you.”


End file.
